From “History of the Chrysanthemum” in The Chrysanthemum: Its History, Culture, Classification, and Nomenclature (1885) by F. W. Burbidge:
“The first chrysanthemum that ever flowered in England bloomed in Colville’s nursery, in the King’s Road, Chelsea, in 1795, the plant having been obtained originally from M. Cels, the celebrated nurseryman, of Paris. At this time, and for some little time afterwards, botanists had a contest as to its botanical position; some of them contended that it was one of the Camomiles (Anthemis), whilst others declared that it was unmistakably a Pyrethrum or Feverfew, but at last it was decided that it should be called Chrysanthemum, from chrysos, gold or golden, and anthos, a flower….
“Sabine, who was secretary to Horticultural Society at the beginning of the present century, says, however, that Chrysanthemums had been grown in Holland nearly as far back as the year 1688; but, singular to say, in 1821 no gardener in Holland knew anything of them….
“In 1808 their cultivation had increased to some nine or ten varieties, and it went on increasing, many varieties being collected for the Royal Horticultural Society in China and Bengal in 1821 by Mr. Parks. At the end of 1825 the number of varieties seems to have been increased to 48, and in 1826 Sabine writes most cheerily concerning their rapid progress, and of an astounding large exhibition of them being held in the society’s gardens at Chiswick, in which were shown over 700 plants in pots….
“The first sport from the original variety was noted in 1802, in which year Mr. Colville, of Chelsea, sent to Chiswick a pale pink variety, which had sprung from a sort called Changeable Buff. It is curious to note names given to some of the varieties about this time. Let one or two be given for curiosity’s sake: Early Blush, Park’s Small Yellow, Blush Ranunculus, Curled Blush, Tasselled Lilac, Two Coloured Red, Double White Indian, Yellow Indian, Waratah, Quilled Pink, Pale Purple. These names, which in a sense give the characteristic of some of them, seem to indicate that in what are now called the show varieties, which are largely of the strain of Chrysanthemum sinense, there was the same special singularities as are to be seen now….”
From “American History of the Chrysanthemum” in The Chrysanthemum: Its Culture for Professional Growers and Amateurs (1905) by Arthur Herrington:
“There is no authentic record, in fact, not even a tradition as to whom we are indebted for the first introduction of the Chrysanthemum to America, yet it must have been brought, or sent, to this country quite early in the last century.
“The New England Farmer of November 20, 1830, reports on some Chrysanthemums exhibited before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by its recording secretary, R. L. Emmons, on November 20, and gives a list of varieties, as for example: Tasseled White, Park’s Small Yellow, Quilled Lilac, Quilled White, Golden Lotus and others, and from the similarity of the names to those already mentioned in the English collections, their origin is clearly indicated.
“The late Peter Henderson was the first to introduce into this country, direct from Japan, some of the best varieties known at that time, 1803, which were on exhibition in New York and Philadelphia in 1864…. By those introductions, Peter Henderson kindled the flame which… gave the first impetus to Chrysanthemum culture in America….”
Hello!
The chrysanthemums in this post (taken at Oakland Cemetery in December 2025) remind me of the plant’s ancient origins: with lighter colors that were originally yellow or white, the typical yellow/orange center structures, and their long, thin petals, they mirror the garden or florist’s chrysanthemums that have been known for centuries, and have proliferated in gardens and flower arrangements throughout that entire time. These plants are most likely hybrids based on Chrysanthemum × morifolium and Chrysanthemum indicum, with colors tweaked over generations so that each flower reveals softly blended yellow, pink, peach, and orange colors. My favorites of this series are the first three — where I managed to capture a hoverfly fully in focus, and where (if you enlarge the image) you can see its exceptionally big bug-eyes, its distinct mimicry of wasp-like striping, and even that it is fetching nectar from the flowers.
We were supposed to get several inches of snow today, so I expected to be out making snow-people or photographing snow on trees — but we only got spittle flakes and “feels like” temperatures in the lowest possible teens. So instead of venturing outside, I went hunting for some “origin stories” about chrysanthemums — and was thrilled to discover and reproduce excerpts at the top of this post from books published in 1885 and 1905 that describe the plant’s introduction to both England and the United States. More fun than snow! 🙂
Thanks for taking a look!
